“My saint!” The last person I wanted to see was the pope. Seriously though, my health hadn’t improved that much. Blood was able to heal my body, but the mental scars remained if they hadn’t deepened. The place where my soul enclosed Luna’s was a literal battlefield of two opposing forces at this point and there was nothing I could do to change that. And the pope certainly couldn’t help me with that either.
“What is it?” I grumbled a little unhappy about my current state.
“The ceremony was scheduled to start an hour ago.” So what, my dear pope? I couldn’t care less that others had to wait for me and honestly, it wasn’t even my fault that we were this late.
“Oh, you might want to scale back your criticism. She’s angry.” Hannah commented from the side while cleverly averting her gaze to avoid my glare.
“Angry? I’m not angry? I just grumbled a little because the whole street was filled with people and we couldn’t get in.” For far too long did we have to wait because these idiots didn’t let us through. Even worse, because that carriage was unmarked the guards had to check on us as well and after that, we were basically encircled by a bunch of peasants.
“But … it was your decision to open the gates for everyone to see your coronation.” Well … yes? But actually … that would mean I was the one to blame for running late and that couldn’t be true.
“Whatever … is everything prepared?” I asked a little nervously. We were already late after all and I didn’t want to be remembered as the empress who had to cancel her own coronation because the dress didn’t fit.
“So does it seem even though the ceremony will be less grandiose this time.” The pope admitted while glancing towards the beggar behind me subtly. I was pretty darn sure the pope wanted to have bob’s position, but sadly I didn’t want religion to be the central role in that new nation.
“I don’t mind it at all. In fact, I am kind of grateful for the simplicity.” I told him happily. I was never a fan of big ceremonies after all and that included coronations. All of them.
“But the people w-“ He started off but soon stopped as he noticed my lack of interest.
“They will be fine. On the other hand, have you worked on gathering all these special people?” I asked concerned. I needed to have at least some success before I could justify going back to Aska. Truth to be told, becoming the absolute ruler of a nation was fine and all, but having a god breathing down my neck kind of ruined that experience.
“… we are on it.” At least that was going alright because these headaches just wouldn’t go away. Maybe doing drugs would work again but that was hardly a possibility so shortly before the big event. And so, I had to ignore the headaches going on my nerves to the best of my ability and hope I wouldn’t make any mistakes. Because honestly? Thinking was hard if your head was filled with strange messages from the system and when it hurt like crazy.
“Great, has anyone seen Juliette?” I asked into the round oblivious of where she was. After all, I had better stuff to do than to search for a lost princess. Even plumbing would be preferable …
“I’m here!”But luckily she was already waiting for us in the foyer with personnel scooting all around her.
“Has everything been dealt with already?” When we were descending the stairs, she honestly looked a bit distressed than usual.
“You are asking that now?” Distressed and angry … did she work through the whole night or what? Poor girl …
“Better late then never?” I asked jokingly and smiled a little which didn’t seem to have the intended effect at all.
“I’m done. I’m so done. We are setting up a constitution and then you leave for half a day, only to come back late? Does this even matter to you?” She asked while shooing all the servants around her away:
“Honestly? No. Not at all.” There were some things I needed to do, including being crowned. But did I want a stinky man to stand behind me for a long time? Absolutely not!
“… I’m so glad you don’t intend to stick around too long.” Juliette knew very well she wasn’t actually in power here and thus her comment was a rather weird one.
“Huh? And I thought we had become best friends.” I told her a little threateningly but even then she didn’t back down. Sometimes, I really hated dealing with people who knew I wouldn’t touch them.
“No. Thanks a lot.” She thus said and pointed towards the still closed door. “There are a lot of people waiting there for you … so please don’t ruin their views on what resembles a democracy.”
“Don’t worry. I do love democracy!” I gave her a little shoulder pat as I walked past her in my silvery dress.
“Yeah … when you are above the law.” Juliette mumbled a little quietly which I promptly chose to ignore. She could complain all she want, it wouldn’t change anything.
As such, I checked my glamorous dress one last time before nodding towards the guards standing near the massive entrance door. I could already hear the cheering masses outside before the door opened slowly, revealing the bright world of the outside. Only the steps leading up to the palace were secured by guards, but the rest was basically free real estate for the citizens. They were standing on pathways, flower beds and grass alike just to see me, the person saving them from the incompetent rule of the previous king.
Slowly, I walked out onto the hastily constructed podium and nodded to the mage standing on the stairs below me. Then, I raised my left hand to silence all the people cheering for me.
“Citizens of the old Worchester kingdom, friends and foes, I welcome you on this fateful day. Some of you might have heard it, some of you may still doubt it, but the king is no more. And with him ends a long history of kings ruling over this nation. No prince will ascend the throne, and neither will I.” Neither Juliette nor I had any chance of communicating our plans with the broader population, so we kind of anticipated the confusion in the crowd. They didn’t knew anything but the monarchy ruling over them, so it was hard for them to even imagine how the end of feudalism may look like.
“Because the royal family is no more.” The princess – or whatever she was now – stepped to my side and faced the crowd as well. “We are just a normal family now, just like every other noble in these lands. There will be no more special rights for a select few and no more discrimination against minorities.” Juliette and I kind of expected any reaction but awkward silence.
“Instead I will grant everyone with my god given rights a voice ought to be heard by the rulers you choose yourself. I do not want the powers of a ruler,” I honestly did, but I couldn’t be bothered to put in the work. “ and therefore I will only play a minor role in this nation I am hereby declaring. May the Landria Republic thrive!” I could hear someone coughing quietly. Thousands and thousands of people and everyone tried to stay quiet? Was this a joke or what?
Swiftly, I glanced towards the mage on the stairs who cancelled the magic increasing the volume of my voice.
“We have leaflets, don’t we?” Our speech was short, that was for sure but neither of us had the time to write a longer one which did entail all the necessary information the people needed to understand our plan.
“You think they don’t understand what we want to tell them?” Juliette asked quietly while the crowd began to mumble quietly.
“Just imagine the average citizen … and half the people is dumber than him.” I told her reluctantly. Both of us had the advantage of knowing different kinds of state forms, but the average Bob certainly didn’t.
“Fair enough … the newspapers will print the information they need to have tomorrow.” Juliette said quietly and faced the crowd once more.
“Great …” I nodded towards the mage yet again and stared at the crowd. “We know you are confused. We are talking about the unthinkable using words you never heard before. But let me tell you this. The technicalities don’t matter. What does is that I want to give you freedom from an oppressive system. I want to give you chances to express yourself … I want to set you free without anyone telling you what is right and wrong. Therefore, there will be changes in your life. But they will be good ones. You all are in charge of your destiny now, no god nor king may interfere with it. And I will make sure it will stay that way. I will make sure everyone may life a life worth living!” Freedom. That was basically what they needed and wanted. Everyone would cheer for that including me … even though freedom wasn’t in my grasp yet.
While the crowd cheered loudly, waved a few flags here and there, I noticed a certain prince climbing the stairs, unhindered by the guards as if they had a secret deal.
“You are a liar!” Gregory shouted out loudly, his voice amplified by the magic as well. “We had a stable nation, one that prospered under the rule of a king and she took everything away from us. Do we just accept that?” At last, the nobles showed their support while I looked at a rather surprised Juliette while my vision went hazy slowly. I really did start to hate my health.
“I may be a liar, but everything I did was for the sake of the people. You know very well that a select few ruling over all others isn’t just.” I explained loudly while my left eye went out of service for the most part. It was so dark all of a sudden that I had trouble even seeing Gregory who stopped mere metres in front of us.
“For the sake of the people? You led an army of undead!” I could lead an army of kittens and he would still find fault in it, wouldn’t he?
“As I told you, it was the demon king. I merely took control after his death and since then, there weren’t many incidents, were they?” We had planned to scale back the destruction of villages after all. Once we got the capital city on my side, the other parts of the nation would follow as well.
“It is still a fact that you colluded with them to murder the king, my father!” He growled unhappily which did seem to upset the rest of the crowd as well.
“She will not hold onto power, my dear brother.” Juliette told him loudly. If there is on thing I learned in my life is that one needs a scapegoat for everything. The demon king was mine for the most part, except for murdering the king. I really couldn’t push that onto him …
“That is correct. I do not intend to get elected … but your sister is. And I believe she can be a better ruler than the king was, or you can be.” I stated loudly exactly as a wave of pain shot through my body and nearly made me giggle. My right eye exploded in colours which faded away swiftly, leaving only the darkness behind. The meagre bit left from my other eye was far from enough to see Juliette by my side as it only left me with a very dim mixture of colours.
And yet, I still smiled and didn’t show anyone what was happening to me. Instead, I grabbed Juliette’s hand and lifted it up to present the crowd their potential next chancellor.
“All of you may become a candidate for the most powerful position in this new republic. You only have to gather enough people for your cause, who it is doesn’t matter. Juliette already has my vote because I believe in her, but I want you to make your own decision. Look at every candidate and see what they offer. And then give them your support! Long live the republic!” I was pretty sure at least half the candidates would try to get rid of democracy again, but that all didn’t matter. It was basically already clear who would win the first election.
Closing my eyes, I nodded towards the mage, or at least I hoped so and then opened them again. My eyes didn’t hurt but neither were they of any use at this point.
My vision was gone.
“Juliette, get the beggar.” I whispered and let go of her hand.
“Okay …” She mumbled, clearly struggling to understand why I was hastening up the procedure by quite a bit. Some time later, I heard how a luxurious chair was placed behind me and felt the armrest. Only as I felt it’s texture with my hand did I sit down on it and waited for Bob to go behind me.
“While whoever gets elected will deal with ruling, we still need someone to represent this nation and steer it back on course when we go astray. I firmly believe there is no one better suited for this role than the saint herself.” Juliette explained and walked beside me.
“I am a nobody. Someone who had lived in the outer district for his entire life. I had heard the stories of how Lucy improved the conditions of the outer district in the past … and I believe her actions will improve our life this time as well. Nobody has given me the right to crown her as our empress. And yet here I am, a beggar crowning Lucy.” I honestly wished he would hurry up a little, mostly because my stomach felt really odd. It was as if something was moving in there, like a worm or something … truly disgusting. “And therefore …” Even more useless babbling left bob’s mouth while I fought with my body going crazy. It didn’t look well for me, I had to admit that. And as such, I was kind of happy as that damned crown was finally on my head and Juliette took my hand again to lift it up. Apparently, we were at the stage where we congratulated each other, but I couldn’t care less.
“Let’s go inside.” I mumbled, still holding onto Juliette’s hand and basically forcing her to move by pushing against her. She gasped a little, probably bewildered by my actions.
“I believe you can let go now.” She told me while making the first step. Naturally, I refused. Without my eyes there was hardly any way for me to get back inside.
“There weren’t any stairs in front of us, were there?” I asked quietly.
“No?” She told me and finally began to walk back inside to avoid even more awkwardness. “Why are we still holding hands?” Juliette asked as soon as the doors closed behind us again, shutting the cheering out.
“Because I’d rather be seen as a lesbian chick than as weak … Hannah?” My stomach was rumbling and hurting like crazy. Finally, I couldn’t stop any giggles from escaping my mouth as my legs gave way and I knelt on the floor. My belly contracted violently and for the first time in … forever, the food I took in left my mouth. Unable to stop my protesting stomach, I puked on the ground in pain and shock.
Something was going wrong.
Very wrong.
“My saint!” The last person I wanted to see was the pope. Seriously though, my health hadn’t improved that much. Blood was able to heal my body, but the mental scars remained if they hadn’t deepened. The place where my soul enclosed Luna’s was a literal battlefield of two opposing forces at this point and there was nothing I could do to change that. And the pope certainly couldn’t help me with that either.
“What is it?” I grumbled a little unhappy about my current state.
“The ceremony was scheduled to start an hour ago.” So what, my dear pope? I couldn’t care less that others had to wait for me and honestly, it wasn’t even my fault that we were this late.
“Oh, you might want to scale back your criticism. She’s angry.” Hannah commented from the side while cleverly averting her gaze to avoid my glare.
“Angry? I’m not angry? I just grumbled a little because the whole street was filled with people and we couldn’t get in.” For far too long did we have to wait because these idiots didn’t let us through. Even worse, because that carriage was unmarked the guards had to check on us as well and after that, we were basically encircled by a bunch of peasants.
“But … it was your decision to open the gates for everyone to see your coronation.” Well … yes? But actually … that would mean I was the one to blame for running late and that couldn’t be true.
“Whatever … is everything prepared?” I asked a little nervously. We were already late after all and I didn’t want to be remembered as the empress who had to cancel her own coronation because the dress didn’t fit.
“So does it seem even though the ceremony will be less grandiose this time.” The pope admitted while glancing towards the beggar behind me subtly. I was pretty darn sure the pope wanted to have bob’s position, but sadly I didn’t want religion to be the central role in that new nation.
“I don’t mind it at all. In fact, I am kind of grateful for the simplicity.” I told him happily. I was never a fan of big ceremonies after all and that included coronations. All of them.
“But the people w-“ He started off but soon stopped as he noticed my lack of interest.
“They will be fine. On the other hand, have you worked on gathering all these special people?” I asked concerned. I needed to have at least some success before I could justify going back to Aska. Truth to be told, becoming the absolute ruler of a nation was fine and all, but having a god breathing down my neck kind of ruined that experience.
“… we are on it.” At least that was going alright because these headaches just wouldn’t go away. Maybe doing drugs would work again but that was hardly a possibility so shortly before the big event. And so, I had to ignore the headaches going on my nerves to the best of my ability and hope I wouldn’t make any mistakes. Because honestly? Thinking was hard if your head was filled with strange messages from the system and when it hurt like crazy.
“Great, has anyone seen Juliette?” I asked into the round oblivious of where she was. After all, I had better stuff to do than to search for a lost princess. Even plumbing would be preferable …
“I’m here!”But luckily she was already waiting for us in the foyer with personnel scooting all around her.
“Has everything been dealt with already?” When we were descending the stairs, she honestly looked a bit distressed than usual.
“You are asking that now?” Distressed and angry … did she work through the whole night or what? Poor girl …
“Better late then never?” I asked jokingly and smiled a little which didn’t seem to have the intended effect at all.
“I’m done. I’m so done. We are setting up a constitution and then you leave for half a day, only to come back late? Does this even matter to you?” She asked while shooing all the servants around her away:
“Honestly? No. Not at all.” There were some things I needed to do, including being crowned. But did I want a stinky man to stand behind me for a long time? Absolutely not!
“… I’m so glad you don’t intend to stick around too long.” Juliette knew very well she wasn’t actually in power here and thus her comment was a rather weird one.
“Huh? And I thought we had become best friends.” I told her a little threateningly but even then she didn’t back down. Sometimes, I really hated dealing with people who knew I wouldn’t touch them.
“No. Thanks a lot.” She thus said and pointed towards the still closed door. “There are a lot of people waiting there for you … so please don’t ruin their views on what resembles a democracy.”
“Don’t worry. I do love democracy!” I gave her a little shoulder pat as I walked past her in my silvery dress.
“Yeah … when you are above the law.” Juliette mumbled a little quietly which I promptly chose to ignore. She could complain all she want, it wouldn’t change anything.
As such, I checked my glamorous dress one last time before nodding towards the guards standing near the massive entrance door. I could already hear the cheering masses outside before the door opened slowly, revealing the bright world of the outside. Only the steps leading up to the palace were secured by guards, but the rest was basically free real estate for the citizens. They were standing on pathways, flower beds and grass alike just to see me, the person saving them from the incompetent rule of the previous king.
Slowly, I walked out onto the hastily constructed podium and nodded to the mage standing on the stairs below me. Then, I raised my left hand to silence all the people cheering for me.
“Citizens of the old Worchester kingdom, friends and foes, I welcome you on this fateful day. Some of you might have heard it, some of you may still doubt it, but the king is no more. And with him ends a long history of kings ruling over this nation. No prince will ascend the throne, and neither will I.” Neither Juliette nor I had any chance of communicating our plans with the broader population, so we kind of anticipated the confusion in the crowd. They didn’t knew anything but the monarchy ruling over them, so it was hard for them to even imagine how the end of feudalism may look like.
“Because the royal family is no more.” The princess – or whatever she was now – stepped to my side and faced the crowd as well. “We are just a normal family now, just like every other noble in these lands. There will be no more special rights for a select few and no more discrimination against minorities.” Juliette and I kind of expected any reaction but awkward silence.
“Instead I will grant everyone with my god given rights a voice ought to be heard by the rulers you choose yourself. I do not want the powers of a ruler,” I honestly did, but I couldn’t be bothered to put in the work. “ and therefore I will only play a minor role in this nation I am hereby declaring. May the Landria Republic thrive!” I could hear someone coughing quietly. Thousands and thousands of people and everyone tried to stay quiet? Was this a joke or what?
Swiftly, I glanced towards the mage on the stairs who cancelled the magic increasing the volume of my voice.
“We have leaflets, don’t we?” Our speech was short, that was for sure but neither of us had the time to write a longer one which did entail all the necessary information the people needed to understand our plan.
“You think they don’t understand what we want to tell them?” Juliette asked quietly while the crowd began to mumble quietly.
“Just imagine the average citizen … and half the people is dumber than him.” I told her reluctantly. Both of us had the advantage of knowing different kinds of state forms, but the average Bob certainly didn’t.
“Fair enough … the newspapers will print the information they need to have tomorrow.” Juliette said quietly and faced the crowd once more.
“Great …” I nodded towards the mage yet again and stared at the crowd. “We know you are confused. We are talking about the unthinkable using words you never heard before. But let me tell you this. The technicalities don’t matter. What does is that I want to give you freedom from an oppressive system. I want to give you chances to express yourself … I want to set you free without anyone telling you what is right and wrong. Therefore, there will be changes in your life. But they will be good ones. You all are in charge of your destiny now, no god nor king may interfere with it. And I will make sure it will stay that way. I will make sure everyone may life a life worth living!” Freedom. That was basically what they needed and wanted. Everyone would cheer for that including me … even though freedom wasn’t in my grasp yet.
While the crowd cheered loudly, waved a few flags here and there, I noticed a certain prince climbing the stairs, unhindered by the guards as if they had a secret deal.
“You are a liar!” Gregory shouted out loudly, his voice amplified by the magic as well. “We had a stable nation, one that prospered under the rule of a king and she took everything away from us. Do we just accept that?” At last, the nobles showed their support while I looked at a rather surprised Juliette while my vision went hazy slowly. I really did start to hate my health.
“I may be a liar, but everything I did was for the sake of the people. You know very well that a select few ruling over all others isn’t just.” I explained loudly while my left eye went out of service for the most part. It was so dark all of a sudden that I had trouble even seeing Gregory who stopped mere metres in front of us.
“For the sake of the people? You led an army of undead!” I could lead an army of kittens and he would still find fault in it, wouldn’t he?
“As I told you, it was the demon king. I merely took control after his death and since then, there weren’t many incidents, were they?” We had planned to scale back the destruction of villages after all. Once we got the capital city on my side, the other parts of the nation would follow as well.
“It is still a fact that you colluded with them to murder the king, my father!” He growled unhappily which did seem to upset the rest of the crowd as well.
“She will not hold onto power, my dear brother.” Juliette told him loudly. If there is on thing I learned in my life is that one needs a scapegoat for everything. The demon king was mine for the most part, except for murdering the king. I really couldn’t push that onto him …
“That is correct. I do not intend to get elected … but your sister is. And I believe she can be a better ruler than the king was, or you can be.” I stated loudly exactly as a wave of pain shot through my body and nearly made me giggle. My right eye exploded in colours which faded away swiftly, leaving only the darkness behind. The meagre bit left from my other eye was far from enough to see Juliette by my side as it only left me with a very dim mixture of colours.
And yet, I still smiled and didn’t show anyone what was happening to me. Instead, I grabbed Juliette’s hand and lifted it up to present the crowd their potential next chancellor.
“All of you may become a candidate for the most powerful position in this new republic. You only have to gather enough people for your cause, who it is doesn’t matter. Juliette already has my vote because I believe in her, but I want you to make your own decision. Look at every candidate and see what they offer. And then give them your support! Long live the republic!” I was pretty sure at least half the candidates would try to get rid of democracy again, but that all didn’t matter. It was basically already clear who would win the first election.
Closing my eyes, I nodded towards the mage, or at least I hoped so and then opened them again. My eyes didn’t hurt but neither were they of any use at this point.
My vision was gone.
“Juliette, get the beggar.” I whispered and let go of her hand.
“Okay …” She mumbled, clearly struggling to understand why I was hastening up the procedure by quite a bit. Some time later, I heard how a luxurious chair was placed behind me and felt the armrest. Only as I felt it’s texture with my hand did I sit down on it and waited for Bob to go behind me.
“While whoever gets elected will deal with ruling, we still need someone to represent this nation and steer it back on course when we go astray. I firmly believe there is no one better suited for this role than the saint herself.” Juliette explained and walked beside me.
“I am a nobody. Someone who had lived in the outer district for his entire life. I had heard the stories of how Lucy improved the conditions of the outer district in the past … and I believe her actions will improve our life this time as well. Nobody has given me the right to crown her as our empress. And yet here I am, a beggar crowning Lucy.” I honestly wished he would hurry up a little, mostly because my stomach felt really odd. It was as if something was moving in there, like a worm or something … truly disgusting. “And therefore …” Even more useless babbling left bob’s mouth while I fought with my body going crazy. It didn’t look well for me, I had to admit that. And as such, I was kind of happy as that damned crown was finally on my head and Juliette took my hand again to lift it up. Apparently, we were at the stage where we congratulated each other, but I couldn’t care less.
“Let’s go inside.” I mumbled, still holding onto Juliette’s hand and basically forcing her to move by pushing against her. She gasped a little, probably bewildered by my actions.
“I believe you can let go now.” She told me while making the first step. Naturally, I refused. Without my eyes there was hardly any way for me to get back inside.
“There weren’t any stairs in front of us, were there?” I asked quietly.
“No?” She told me and finally began to walk back inside to avoid even more awkwardness. “Why are we still holding hands?” Juliette asked as soon as the doors closed behind us again, shutting the cheering out.
“Because I’d rather be seen as a lesbian chick than as weak … Hannah?” My stomach was rumbling and hurting like crazy. Finally, I couldn’t stop any giggles from escaping my mouth as my legs gave way and I knelt on the floor. My belly contracted violently and for the first time in … forever, the food I took in left my mouth. Unable to stop my protesting stomach, I puked on the ground in pain and shock.
Something was going wrong.
Very wrong.
